Signs of Strength from Server Sector

Aside from the battle for 3PAR between Dell and HP there have been several upbeat announcements about the server market and processors, and one down-beat warning from Intel CEO Paul Otellini.

Gartner reports increased server shipments.
Gartner (IT) reported Wednesday that worldwide server shipments grew 27.1 percent year over year in the second quarter of 2010, while revenue climbed 14.3 percent.  HP kept the number one spot with 30 percent of the market share as shipments increased 23.3 percent over the same period last year and they posted just over $3.5 billion in server revenue.  In the list of the top five server vendors only second place IBM and fourth place Oracle were absent from reporting revenue increases for the second quarter.

Dell's financial results support Gartner data
Last week Dell reported strong second quarer 2010 results, driven by a significant increase in commercial customer demand for Dell enterprise solutions.  Overall company revenue increased 22 percent to $15.5 billion while their servers, storage and services revenue climbed up 43 percent to $4.3 billion.

"We continue to strengthen our portfolio of data center solutions at an aggressive pace with the addition of key IP, talent and technology," said Chairman and CEO Michael Dell. "This quarter’s results are a strong reflection of the progress we’ve made, and we remain very focused on delivering the best possible solutions and services to meet our customers’ IT needs.”

Dell's acquisition spree recently included Scalent and Ocarina Networks. The company ended the second quarter with $1.3 billion in cash flow from operations and $13.1 billion in cash and investments. Dell also recently announced that it has eliminated the use of 18.2 million pounds of packaging since 2008.

HP shipping delays?
When it isn't battling Dell for 3 PAR, HP apparently has been experiencing some problems with shipping products. While stories abound of delays, HP denies any significant shortages.  Ex-CEO Mark Hurd said that HP represents a $70 billion supply chain, which may be the cause of many of the delays experienced.  Blame can be pointed at a shortage of Intel Westmeres, Asian suppliers and the recession or just the change in guaranteed ship dates from HP increasing from 5 to 10 business days.

AMD Processor Innovation
AMD announced new details on its two next-generation x86 processor core implementations, including their unique approach to high-performance, multi-threaded computing, as well as a sub one-watt capable low-power design.  The core aimed at the high-performance PC and server markets is code named 'Bulldozer' while 'Bobcat' is for low-power notebook and small form-factor desktop markets.  “In my opinion, Bulldozer and Bobcat are not only two of the greatest technical achievements in AMD’s rich history, but two of the most important for the industry as well,” said Chekib Akrout, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Technology Development. “With CPUs and APUs built from these core implementations, we expect our customers to deliver a new wave of innovative PC form factors and high-performance computing experiences.”  Details of the two cores are detailed in this YouTube video: